Face up to autumn

It's that time of year when clothes in dark colours and heavier textures send us rushing for the new shades and products that will transform us from pallid zombies to winter glamazons.

At this time of year, as the light starts changing, the make-up we've been wearing all summer starts to look wrong. The advice from leading make-up artist Carol Morley when planning your look for autumn is to keep it simple and put the emphasis on one feature - eyes, lips or cheeks -but definitely not all three.

"You want to create smooth and clear-looking skin," says Carol. Her tip is to use a foundation that matches your skin tone and pat it on only where needed. If your skin looks good, then you just need a slick of black or brown mascara and a touch of lip balm or nude lipstick

To add colour to your complexion, a sweep of blusher will give you a healthy glow. Carol recommends "lifting" the face with a muted pink. "Use a soft brush and apply to the apples of your cheeks in an upward circular motion. Be careful not to place the blusher too low or it will make the face look dragged-down."

Razor-sharp sculpting of the face - another trend from the 60s - may be big right now but, according to Carol, it can go horribly wrong, particularly for more mature faces. She suggests colouring cheekbones with a soft brown/caramel shade with a few strokes of a soft brush - but not too much dark bronzer "as it can make the skin look dirty," she says. "Then a little silvery or gold highlighter, or moisturiser - better for mature skin - patted along the top of the cheekbones will highlight your cheeks without the need for elaborate sculpting.

"For great looking skin it's about a matte but luminous finish, taking time to prime and hydrate the skin carefully before applying foundation," says Mac's make-up maestro, Lynsey Alexander.

For a more grown-up highlight without any sparkle or shimmer, Lynsey suggests using a lighter concealer or foundation on all the high planes of the face. "It looks more natural that way, rather than like make-up sitting on the skin," she says. Eyes should be shaded in soft, matte, mid-tone colours. Leaving lips neutral and lashes nude will make this "no-make-up" make-up look contemporary, but tends to work best on young faces. Anyone over 40 attempting this look may well look as though they forgot to finish applying their make-up.

Give classic smokey eyes a new twist. Rather than using black, which can be ageing and high-maintenance as well as making your eyes look tired, Carol suggests using softer shades such as taupe, hazy mauve or khaki. "And go easy with the mascara or it can look overdone at this time of the year," she adds.

Make-up guru Daniel Sandler recommends a navy blue eye shadow or eye pencil to update your look." Don't apply it all over the eyelid," he says. "Run a medium fine pencil line above the upper lash line. Smudge to soften using a fine brush. If you want a more intense look at night, layer a matching eye shadow on top."

When it comes to lip-colour, be consistent. If you are going for a natural look, choose one of the stunning nude tones, with just a hint of gloss, like Nars Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment, in Greta, or the definitive nude tones, Vanilla Suede and Blush Nude from Tom Ford's Private Blend Lip Colour collection at a mouth-drying £35.

If you want something more dramatic - only permitted by the style police if you pledge to restrain your enthusiasm for blusher and bronzer - there are dramatic reds, deep burgundies and Biba-inspired almost-blacks for lips.

If you like the idea of a darker shade, but don't feel you can carry off strongly pigmented colour, rub a little lipstick on the the lips as a stain, which is less heavy and ageing. Carol adds: "Keep the rest of the face nude."